Magic rout Pistons 115-87

By on March 24, 2017

Orlando, Fla. — It’s always sweet when a team gets a win over its former coach, and even more so when that win knocks them farther out of playoff contention.

For the struggling Pistons, who have been flip-flopping point guards on a whim in search of offensive consistency, the Magic appeared to catch them off-guard on Friday. Detroit opened up to a two-point lead but would be run out of the building by the Magic from there.

Orlando led by as much as 33 and they appeared more cohesive throughout. Their ball movement versus that of the Pistons was a night and day difference, as the recently-formed Magic squad spread the ball around to 11 different scorers via 36 assists. Though that total is a bit inflated due to the blowout nature of the game, six Magic men, including all five starters were in double figures.

Point guard Elfrid Payton led the charge with his fourth triple-double of the season, which have all come in the last 10 games. His 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists powered the Magic’s efficient attack. Payton has been a difference maker post-All-Star break, averaging 12 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists before tonight’s game.

“EP is being EP; very active,” said swingman Evan Fournier on Payton’s performance, “I mean the guy is everywhere, especially on the rebound. It’s a strong performance to have whatever rebounds he had, I think 11 or 12, for a point guard. It’s impressive. He’s just been in attack mode like he always is and he’s making really good decisions.”

Magic man Terrence Ross led the team in scoring, with 18 points on only nine shots. He was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, which was a huge contribution to the team’s stellar three-point shooting on the night. The Magic, 26th place in the league with 8.4 made threes per game, sank 12 night at a 46 percent clip on Friday.

The ball movement and quick pace of the Magic’s offense are tweaks that head coach Frank Vogel has implemented since the team traded power forward Serge Ibaka for Ross, a quick, athletic swingman with a jump shot.

“[It was] our best ball movement game of the year by far,” said Vogel, “we preach it every game and some games it’s easier than others, but that starting group in particular really set the tone with both Elfrid initiating everything and Evan and Terrence have gotten really good at reading the defense…”

In contrast to the Magic’s spread attack, only one Pistons starter, former Magic player Tobias Harris, scored more than eight points.

Their leading scorer, Jon Leur, racked up nearly all of his 16 points when the game was out of reach.

The Orlando Magic (27-46) will now hit the road to take on the Toronto Raptors (43-29), who they have beaten in each of their last two meetings.

Pistons
STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
M. MorrisPF 22 1-8 0-2 2-2 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 3 -16 4
T. HarrisSF 26 3-8 1-3 4-4 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 2 -21 11
A. DrummondC 20 3-8 0-0 0-2 4 10 14 2 0 1 1 2 -23 6
I. SmithPG 16 3-7 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 1 -13 6
K. Caldwell-PopeSG 21 2-11 0-4 4-5 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 -25 8
BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
J. LeuerPF 28 7-11 0-2 2-2 2 6 8 2 1 0 1 0 -10 16
S. JohnsonSF 22 1-7 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 -13 2
R. BullockSF 17 0-5 0-3 0-0 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 -1 0
A. BaynesC 16 4-8 0-0 0-0 4 3 7 0 0 1 1 4 -7 8
B. MarjanovicC 12 5-7 0-0 5-5 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 3 +2 15
B. UdrihPG 12 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 2 1 +2 0
R. JacksonPG 20 5-14 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 3 0 1 0 1 -17 11
D. HilliardSG 9 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 +2 0
TEAM 34-96 2-22 17-20 12 38 50 21 3 3 8 17 87
35.4% 9.1% 85.0%
Magic
STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
A. GordonPF 30 8-11 0-2 0-0 0 4 4 2 0 1 0 1 +28 16
T. RossSF 21 6-9 5-6 1-1 0 4 4 2 1 1 0 4 +18 18
N. VucevicC 26 8-14 0-1 0-0 2 6 8 6 1 1 2 1 +28 16
E. PaytonPG 29 5-11 1-1 3-5 2 9 11 10 0 0 3 1 +31 14
E. FournierSG 23 6-10 1-4 2-2 0 3 3 2 0 0 1 0 +25 15
BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
D. RudezSF 6 2-3 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 -2 5
S. ZimmermanC 6 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 0 0 2 0 3 -2 1
B. BiyomboC 16 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 0 1 1 4 +2 4
C.J. WatsonPG 16 1-4 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 3 2 0 2 2 -2 2
D.J. AugustinPG 13 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 -1 3
M. HezonjaSG 28 2-6 0-2 2-3 0 4 4 6 0 0 1 0 +17 6
C. WilcoxSG 6 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 -2 0
J. MeeksSG 21 6-12 3-4 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 +0 15
TEAM 47-91 12-26 9-13 6 41 47 36 4 6 10 17 115
51.6% 46.2% 69.2%
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